Lullaby
by Hotarukun
Summary: Josh could spontaneously combust and Drake wouldn't be surprised. He was accident waiting to happen. An accident that Drake relies on. Brother/Friendship.


**AN: Shut up, I got bored. Haha. Reviews are absolute love, thanks dears.**

Drake and Josh didn't talk about the parents that had remained inexplicably absent to them since they were twelve.

When Walter Nichols had been dating Nancy Parker, Josh had found out from his dad that Drake's father had left the house to buy a CD for his son's birthday.

He'd never returned.

Drake had been told by his mother that Josh's mom hadn't just left her family, she'd left the world. The thought had humbled him. He wondered which was worse: knowing you had a parent wandering around somewhere that wanted to leave you or having a parent that was gone forever that wanted nothing more than to stay with you.

"Wait, calm down, Megan, what do you mean he's appendix might burst?"

Drake clutched his cell phone to his ear, seeing past his latest blue-eyed blonde-haired date who was eyeing him with sympathy.

He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. If there was some ailment in the world that only existed in one out of every one million people, it would be Josh. Josh was always having body malfunctions. They had some medical website bookmarked on their computer for god's sake!

And Megan's tone wasn't reassuring him at all really. His little sister hardly ever got freaked, especially with something having to do with causing her brothers pain. "He has appendicitis," she said shakily and Drake looked away from the blonde…Stacy? Ugh, whatever. He'd figure out her name later. She was starting to look impatient. "Dad's coming to meet us and…I don't know where Mom is but…you should probably go home…she's not answering her phone…"

Drake ground his teeth together. "How did this happen?"

"I don't know! I mean, the one time, I decide he can take me to see a stupid magic show and we don't even make it through the doors…" Her voice trailed off and Drake didn't want to think she was crying.

"Okay, I'm going to go home and hold down the fort. Call me as soon as you hear anything, okay?" He sighed and glanced at…Stacy. She looked a little miffed. Whatever. "And Megan?"

"Yeah?"

"He's going to be okay. It's Josh. Josh is always okay." He didn't know who he was saying it for, his little sister or himself.

Even after the relieving phone call that told them the surgery had went well and that Josh's appendix was removed, Drake couldn't sleep that night.

The room was too quiet. He couldn't hear his brother snoring or talking in his sleep. The darkness felt like a blanket that was suffocating him.

After a while he climbed down from his bed and switched on the light, hovering in the doorway. "This is so weird," he muttered to himself, embarrassed.

Why was he always embarrassed?

He slept with the light on and the radio on soft rock. And he woke up with circles under his eyes.

Josh came home the next day, drugged up and extremely amusing.

Although it had Megan in a small bind. Even if the girl wanted to do something torturous to him in his weakened state, it wouldn't have bothered him one bit.

Yeah, he was goooneee.

It was nine at night and Josh was still acting like a loon.

Drake went to turn off the lights when Josh gave him a hard stare. "I'm readingggg, Drakeee," he singsonged and then giggled.

The teenager sighed and decided to play along for now. "What are you readingggg, Josh?"

"My mom," Josh said in a small voice.

Drake stiffened and walked over. "Huh?"

His brother held out what he'd been "reading". It was a photo album. "See? She's pretty isn't she?"

Drake looked at Josh's lopsided, slightly sad smile and then down at the photograph. It was a much pudgier, younger Josh and very tiny, petite, dark haired woman. They had the same large brown eyes and the same goofy smiles.

"That's your mom?" Drake asked softly. He reached out hesitantly and touched the point in the photo where their hands connected.

Josh nodded slowly. "Yeah. Hey, did you know she used to sing me to sleep when I was reaaallyyy little?" He looked up at his brother and squinted. "Lame, huh?"

Drake cleared his throat and half-smiled. "No it's not." He shifted from one foot to the other as Josh watched him. Even in some sort of drug-induced state, his brother, his best friend, still knew him best. "My dad used to do that too."

Josh gave another jerky little nod and closed the album, swinging down and shoving it under his bed in a strangely coordinated movement. Drake turned down the lights and watched him suspiciously. "Goodnight."

Josh didn't answer. Drake huffed and looked over to see his brother staring at the ceiling. "Josh?"

"Hey, Drake, sing me a song."

Drake sat up. "What? No!"

"C'moooon. I almost _died _yesterday."

Drake flinched. Why did that bother him so much? It wasn't his fault Josh sporadically acquired illnesses. Because Megan was there? _Because I wasn't?_

"I'm not singing you a lullaby, Josh. Go to sleep."

"Fine." It sounded strangely child-like and Drake had to smirk. Josh was always the mature one. It was quiet for a moment, but Drake knew Josh was still wide awake, staring at the same ceiling he was.

He gave in. Josh was always giving in to him, wasn't he?

He hummed "Here Comes the Sun" under his breath until Josh's slow breathing turned into a gentle snore.

Then he drifted off to sleep himself, unaware he'd had his own lullaby all along.


End file.
